‘Justice’ is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year, beating out ‘lodestar’ and ‘nationalism’

In 2018, the word has appeared daily in news stories about the Justice Department, obstruction of justice, Supreme Court justices or social justice, to name a few.

For its steadfast relevance over the past 12 months, “justice” is Merriam-Webster’s 2018 word of the year, an annual distinction the dictionary’s editors choose based entirely on look-up data.

“For many reasons and for many meanings, one thing’s for sure: justice has been on the minds of many people in 2018,” Merriam-Webster associated editor Emily Brewster said in a statement.

There were 74 percent more look-ups for “justice” on Merriam-Webster.com than in 2017, according to the dictionary. In general, a constant stream of news stories about the Justice Department kept the word in the public consciousness throughout the year. In addition, “the concept of justice has been at the center of many national debates in 2018 — from social justice to criminal justice,” the dictionary noted.

But people also turned to the popular online dictionary to look up specific uses of the word after certain events and news stories this year.

For instance, searches for “obstruction of justice” spiked Aug. 1, the day President Trump tweeted for then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to stop “this Rigged Witch Hunt” — the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

..This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!

Searches for “justice” also spiked on Merriam-Webster.com during the Senate confirmation hearings for now-Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, the dictionary noted.

“Justice might seem like a very common word, but it’s often familiar words for abstract concepts that are among the most-looked-up words in the dictionary,” Merriam-Webster editor at large Peter Sokolowski said in a video accompanying the dictionary’s announcement. “When common words are used in contexts that are very specific, technical or legal, we turn to the dictionary for the detail and nuance that a definition would have."

Other words were pushed to the dictionary’s notable list because a single news event: Searches for “lodestar,” for instance, spiked after the New York Times published an anonymous op-ed by someone in the Trump administration that contained the word. “Nationalism” spiked in October after Trump declared he was a “nationalist.”

“You know, they have a word — it’s sort of became old-fashioned — it’s called a ‘nationalist,' " Trump said at a rally in Texas. "And I say, really, we’re not supposed to use that word. You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, okay? I’m a nationalist. Nationalist. Nothing wrong. Use that word. Use that word.”

By comparison, searches for “justice” were more consistent throughout the year.

“The word and the concept of justice has been at the center of so many of our national debates in the past year: Racial year. Social justice. Criminal justice. Economic justice,” Sokolowski said. "Any conversation about these topics can naturally lead to seeking a clearer idea of what we mean when we speak of justice.”

Merriam-Webster also saw spikes for three words after the deaths of famous figures year: “maverick” for former senator John McCain, “excelsior” for comic book writer Stan Lee and “respect” for music legend Aretha Franklin.

“Looking at the year through the prism of vocabulary by analyzing our look-up data reminds us that words matter,” Sokolowski said. “Through the dictionary, we can make these connections with words that tell us something about our culture, our language and ourselves.”